Potatos as a Business Sector - Overproduction Resulted in Lower Prices

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Potato: Low Prices for Overproduction

Producers in Panama report that the wholesale price of potato quintal is $30, which is attributed to the excess supply in the country.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

According to businessmen's estimates, consumption per month in the local market is about 50,000 quintals of potato, and it is expected that in August production in the country will rise to 75,000 quintals and in September to 55,000 quintals.

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Augusto Jiménez, of the Highlands Producing Community Association (ACPTA), explained to Laestrella.com.pa that "... the two items that make up the Highlands production economy are potatoes and onions; but for this year the number of hectares of potatoes planted doubled, because of the over import of onions that discouraged national producers from planting the bulb. As a result of the onion over import, the desertion in that direction, the lost areas and everything else created an imbalance in production and producers went to plant potatoes.”

Regarding onion, at the beginning of July it was reported that because of the shortage of the product in the local market, they authorized the import of 80,000 quintals of onion between July and September of this year.

Jiménez added that "... the Executive was recommended to take both onion and potato out of price control, because if the potato were not under price control in supermarkets, consumers could perceive savings of up to $0.20. Price control doesn't make sense."

 

https://www.centralamericadata.com/en/article/main/Potato_Low_Prices_for_Overproduction